Amietia angolensis (Barboza du Bocage, 1866)

Class: Amphibia > Order: Anura > Family: Pyxicephalidae > Subfamily: Cacosterninae > Genus: Amietia > Species: Amietia angolensis

Rana angolensis Barboza du Bocage, 1866, J. Sci. Math. Phys. Nat., Lisboa, 1 (1): 73. Syntypes: MBL (2 specimens) by original indication; MBL T. 8–94 invalidly designated lectotype by implication by Perret, 1976, Arq. Mus. Bocage, Ser. 2, 6: 18, having listed this syntype as "holotype"; destroyed in 1978 fire. Type locality: "Duque de Bragança", Angola; other specimens and localities listed by Perret, 1976, Arq. Mus. Bocage, Ser. 2, 6: 18, in error.

Rana fuscigula angolensis — Hewitt, 1927, Rec. Albany Mus., 3: 408; Laurent, 1954, Publ. Cult. Companhia Diamantes Angola, 23: 134 (15 on preprint); Loveridge, 1953, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., 110: 132.

Rana (Rana) angolensis — De Witte, 1930, Rev. Zool. Bot. Afr., 19: 261; Dubois, 1987 "1986", Alytes, 5: 42.

Rana (Rana) fuscigula angolensis — Guibé, 1950 "1948", Cat. Types Amph. Mus. Natl. Hist. Nat.: 34.

Rana (Afrana) angolensis — Dubois, 1992, Bull. Mens. Soc. Linn. Lyon, 61: 334.

Afrana angolensis — Visser and Channing, 1997, J. Afr. Zool., 111: 192; Channing, 2001, Amph. Cent. S. Afr.: 255.

Amietia angolensis — Frost, Grant, Faivovich, Bain, Haas, Haddad, de Sá, Channing, Wilkinson, Donnellan, Raxworthy, Campbell, Blotto, Moler, Drewes, Nussbaum, Lynch, Green, and Wheeler, 2006, Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist., 297: 366.

Common Names

Angola River Frog (Broadley, 1971, Puku, 6: 113; Broadley, 1973, J. Herpetol. Assoc. Afr., 10: 23; Broadley, 1978, J. Herpetol. Assoc. Afr., 19: 33; Passmore and Carruthers, 1978, J. Herpetol. Assoc. Afr., 19: 5; Passmore and Carruthers, 1979, S. Afr. Frogs: 130; Lambiris, 1990 "1989", Monogr. Mus. Reg. Sci. Nat. Torino, 10: 90; Channing, 2001, Amph. Cent. S. Afr.: 255.

Angola Frog (Van Dijk, 1978, J. Herpetol. Assoc. Afr., 17: 15; Frank and Ramus, 1995, Compl. Guide Scient. Common Names Amph. Rept. World: 106).

Angolan River Frog (Channing and Howell, 2006, Amph. E. Afr.: 250; Channing, Dehling, Lötters, and Ernst, 2016, Zootaxa, 4155: 15).

Dusky-throated River Frog (Channing and Howell, 2006, Amph. E. Afr.: 250 [alternative name]).

Dusky-throated Frog (Stewart and Wilson, 1966, Ann. Natal Mus., 18: 298; Passmore and Carruthers, 1978, J. Herpetol. Assoc. Afr., 19: 5; Passmore and Carruthers, 1979, S. Afr. Frogs: 130).

Distribution

Known only from the northern 2/3s of Angola and south along the coast to Namibe Province, extending into adjacent southwestern Dem. Rep. Congo; reported from northeastern Dem. Rep. Congo (see comment) and possibly to be found in extreme northwestern Zambia and Mozambique (see comment). 

Geographic Occurrence

Natural Resident: Angola

Likely/Controversially Present: Congo, Democratic Republic of the

Endemic: Angola

Comment

Prior to the revision of Frost, Grant, Faivovich, Bain, Haas, Haddad, de Sá, Channing, Wilkinson, Donnellan, Raxworthy, Campbell, Blotto, Moler, Drewes, Nussbaum, Lynch, Green, and Wheeler, 2006, Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist., 297, placed in the Section Strongylopus, subgenus Afrana of Rana of Dubois, 1992, Bull. Mens. Soc. Linn. Lyon, 61: 334. The revision of Channing and Baptista, 2013, Zootaxa, 3640: 501–520, made it clear that nominal "Amietia angolensis" is a complex of species, with Amietia angolensis sensu stricto being restricted to Angola and the revision of Channing, Dehling, Lötters, and Ernst, 2016, Zootaxa, 4155: 1–76, partitioned former Amietia angolensis into several species, rendering older literature very difficult to use with any confidence. Literature dealing with any part of the range of the complex must be used with caution as several species clearly have traditionally been confounded. For purposes of completeness the following publications dealing with nominal Amietia angolensis are included here, but there is little evidence that the species treated are that species. See Ceríaco, de Sá, Bandeira, Valério, Stanley, Kuhn, Marques, Vindum, Blackburn, and Bauer, 2016, Proc. California Acad. Sci., Ser. 4, 63: 15–61, for record of specimen from Namibe Province, southwestern Angola. See Poynton, 1964, Ann. Natal Mus., 17: 103–107; Perret, 1976, Arq. Mus. Bocage, Ser. 2, 6: 15–34; and Channing, 1978, Ann. Natal Mus., 23: 361–365, for diagnosis. See comment under Afrana fuscigula. Poynton and Broadley, 1985, Ann. Natal Mus., 27: 132–134, provided an account and doubted the earlier synonymy of Rana chapini Noble, 1924, by Laurent, 1972, Explor. Parc Natl. Virunga, Ser. 2, 22: 90. See also Lambiris, 1988, Lammergeyer, 39: 89–90. See discussion by Loveridge, 1933, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., 74: 362–364, regarding races. Containing many cryptic species according to Drewes and Vindum, 1994, J. Afr. Zool., 108: 65. See Channing, 2001, Amph. Cent. S. Afr.: 255–256, for account of southern African population.  Bauer and Branch, 2001, Herpetol. Nat. Hist., 8: 124–125, commented on confusion with Rana fuscigula and range in western South Africa. See also accounts by Pickersgill, 2007, Frog Search: 98–101, and Lötters, Wagner, Bwong, Schick, Malonza, Muchai, Wasonga, and Veith, 2007, Fieldguide Amph. Rept. Kakamega Forest: 17–18.See account, photograph, and map for Ethiopia by Largen and Spawls, 2010, Amph. Rept. Ethiopia Eritrea: 160–162. Malonza, Lötters, and Measey, 2010, J. E. Afr. Nat. Hist., 99: 55, commented on range, life history, and conservation status in the Taita Hills of Kenya, obviously based on mis- or old identification. Measey, Malonza, and Muchai, 2009, Amph. Taita Hills: 48–49, provided a brief account and photo for the Taita Hills, Kenya. Channing, Rödel, and Channing, 2012, Tadpoles of Africa: 318–319, provided information on comparative larval morphology. Harper, Measey, Patrick, Menegon, and Vonesh, 2010, Field Guide Amph. E. Arc Mts. Tanzania and Kenya: 276–277, provided a brief account and photograph. Nagy, Chifundera, Collet, and Gvoždík, 2013, Herpetol. Notes, 6:  413–419, provided a record from Bas-Congo, southwestern Dem. Rep. Congo.  Portik, Mulungu, Sequeira, and McEntee, 2013, Herpetol. Rev., 44: 396, provided records for Zambézia Province, Mozambique, but suggested some concern about taxonomic status. Ohler and Frétey, 2014, J. E. Afr. Nat. Hist., 103: 101, provided a brief discussion of a collection from northern Mozambique, that they referred to Amietia cf angolensis but thought might be Amietia quecketti. Larson, Castro, Behangana, and Greenbaum, 2016, Mol. Phylogenet. Evol., 99: 168–181, suggested that Rana chapini will be found to be a distinct species. See account by Channing, Dehling, Lötters, and Ernst, 2016, Zootaxa, 4155: 15–21. Channing and Howell, 2006, Amph. E. Afr.: 250–252, provided an account for East Africa (as Afrana angolensis).  See Largen, 2001, Tropical Zool., 14: 331–332, for comments on distribution (as Rana angolensis). Mercurio, 2011, Amph. Malawi: 277–280, provided an account for Malawi (as Rana angolensis). Marques, Ceríaco, Blackburn, and Bauer, 2018, Proc. California Acad. Sci., Ser. 4, 65 (Suppl. II): 149–148, provided a map for Angola and brief discussion of the literature. Marques, Ceríaco, Blackburn, and Bauer, 2018, Proc. California Acad. Sci., Ser. 4, 65 (Suppl. II): 147–151, provided a map for Angola and brief discussion of the literature. Channing and Rödel, 2019, Field Guide Frogs & Other Amph. Afr.: 352–353, provided a brief account, photograph, and range map. Mali, Banda, Chifundera, Badjedjea, Sebe, Lokasola, Ewango, Tungaluna, and Akaibe, 2019, Am. J. Zool., 2: 38–43, reported the species from the Okapi Wildlife Reserve, northeastern Dem. Rep. Congo. Mali, Laudisoit, Yendema, Badjedjea, Mukobya, Ewango, Katuala, Akaibe, Bongo, Anio, Ngbolua, and Tungaluna, 2019, Asian J. Res. Zool., 2(4): 1–11, reported specimens so identified from the Lendu Plateau of northeastern Dem. Rep. Congo; this identification requires confirmation. Ernst, Lautenschläger, Branquima, and Hölting, 2020, Zoosyst. Evol., 96: 256, noted the presence in Uigé Province, northwestern Angola. Freilich, Anadón, Bukala, Calderon, Chakraborty, and Boissinot, 2016, BMC Evol. Biol., 16 (206): 1–19, reported on the molecular biogeography of an apparently unnamed species, nominally Amietia angolensis but clearly not on biogeographic grounds, from both sides of the Great Rift in montane (above 2364 m elevation) Ethiopia. Kako-Wanzalire, Mongo, Ilonga, Mapoli, Mbumba, Neema, Tungaluna, Itoka, and Bogaert, 2021, Tropicultura, 39 (1: 1709): 1–19, discussed habitat preference in Tshopo, north-central Dem. Rep. Congo, but did not discuss the identification. Conradie, Keates, Verburgt, Baptista, and Harvey, 2023, Amph. Rept. Conserv., 17: 48–49, provided an account and dot map of the species in Angola. Marques, Parrinha, Lopes-Lima, Tiutenko, Bauer, and Ceríaco, 2024, ZooKeys, 1201: 183, briefly discussed localities in the Serra da Neve inselberg region, Namibia Province, southwestern Angola.   

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